Wherever the road (or plane) may take me.....: The mini castle...

Two stops on our adventure today as we said a final good-bye to Lermoos, Austrian (and our REALLY nice hotel). The first stop today was a mini castle. It was on of Mad Ludewig's castles and this one he finished before his death and was able to enjoy. It is called Linderhof Castle. He would go there to get away from the city (and everyone else). I believe the guide said he came her 2 weeks out of the month, so it would seem he was here a lot. He modeled it after French royalty (lots of Louis). There are no pictures of him or others he actually knew in it. It was OVER the top. Gold and porcelain ALL over the place. It didn't consist of many rooms. Servants and his bathroom on the first floor. His music room, bedroom, dining room and a few other rooms comprised the second floor. Since he never invited anyone up to visit or stay I would imagine the rooms didn't get much use. The neatest thing was in his dining room. His table was on a a special dolly-type system. The whole table could be lowered down to the kitchen and the floor would close up. After the food was on his table, the floor would open and his table would be raised up. This was so he didn't have to see the servants and his food could be hot. Up above the house he created a grotto so that he could have operas performed. He certainly lived the high life!! Second stop of the day was this unassuming little church- until you walked in. Oh my goodness, looks can be deceiving! It was called Wieskirche-Pilgrimage Church of the Scourged Saviour. It is said that, in 1738, tears were seen on a dilapidated wooden figure of the Scourged Saviour. So, they built a chapel for it but that soon became to small and they built the church. It too, was OVER the top! Gold everywhere, wonderful painted ceiling, etc. Maybe that should have been the title for today- Over the top X 2.........Gold, Gold, everywhere.....